Pray:
Master and Friend, awaken the passion in me that would help me grow to be more like Your servant Paul.
Read:
Acts 20:13-24
Reflect:
What was Paul's motivation?
Paul was full of passion! He was single-minded in his thirst to spread the Gospel, never missing an opportunity to preach, in public or private (20). He held his own safety second to his calling, the job he knew with certainty God had given him--the "task of testifying to the good news of God's grace" (24).
Most of us don't live with the same single-minded focus that Paul shows in these verses. Yes, we try to follow God, but it can sometimes feel like just another "hobby," squeezed in amidst our job, our family, our social life or our leisure pursuits.
We may not be called to the same intense schedule of biblical teaching as Paul (Jas. 3:1), but we are all called to something. In Paul's letters to the early church he encourages us to discern what our talents or gifts are, and to use them wholeheartedly (1 Cor. 14:1-5; Rom. 12:6-8).
We are all different, but our challenge is the same-to be as all-out for Christ as Paul was.
Apply:
Consecrate yourself to God and his purposes. Choose to lay down all other pursuits and willingly embrace the cost.
Pray:
Lord, help me to see the eternal significance of Your Gospel and choose to be faithful to live in light of this significance.
